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Wednesday, 29 April 2015

Now I know I promised to share more of William Morris and his letters but first a little of this! Yesterday I met six eager Morris fans who had flown from Quairading in Western Australia. This town is situated in the wheat belt of WA and is two hours east of Perth. After the girls made the road trip to Perth there was another two and a half hour flight to Adelaide. Sam emailed me a year ago to plan it all and how that year has flown (and little did she know that she would be very pregnant on this visit with her fourth child!) We met at the Art Gallery of South Australia and were met by the Decorative Arts Curator Robert Reason. And what a treat we had…….Robert kindly retrieved some items from storage including two of my most favourite embroidered pieces. Theembroideries never cease to enthral me with stitches in silk that glow with their exquisite shading……….

After a couple of wonderful hours at the gallery it was a quick walk down North Tce, past the War Memorial and then a short tram ride to lunch……..

Lunch destination was an old railway station now known as The Loose Caboose and the food did not disappoint……..

I had the most delicious mushrooms…...

And when the bill came it was tucked inside a vintage golden book The Little Red Caboose!

After lunch it was another walk down the road where we had some fun time together at Hettie's Patch where I was spoilt with a gorgeous gift from the girls….

Thanks Sam for organising the trip and thanks girls for making the journey to Adelaide and for allowing me to share a little of our William Morris story with you…….

We've had some great family time over the last week as well from decorating donuts, receiving balloons twisted into a motor bike and a walk down by the river……wonderful memories together…….the first two colourful images are Emily's collages (thanks Em!)……

Now to that long awaited May Morris book (!!)…..we have decided that release date will be after a little book launch which will actually be a fundraiser for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. A local group made the kind offer so that will be a fun day on May 26th. The books will retail for $22.95(AUS) and postage in Australia is only $3.50. To New Zealand it is $9.75 but postage to the UK, USA and Canada is an outrageous $16.50! So I will explore the possibility of getting the books printed in the US and let you know. Meanwhile stay tuned for a new website where purchasing will be simple with a credit card via PayPal. Thanks again for your visit and next time I will explore the next lot of letters from William Morris!

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Today is a very special day in Australia and New Zealand……..Anzac Day and this year is extra special as it is the 100th anniversary of the very day that Australian and New Zealand troops along with other allies landed at Gallipoli during WW1. 8,709 Australians died and 2,701 New Zealanders. My late grandfather Charles Roberts, fondly known as "Char" to us all was one of those who fought. He was injured but did come home……

He told us stories which know one no-one (!!), should have to bare or is it bear…maybe I should just use 'tolerate'? (As I get older the brain doesn't produce the words automatically like it used to!). He also told us he had shrapnel in his head and that it would be too dangerous to remove surgically, so all his life he suffered from migraines. But so many did not live to tell any stories…….we will never ever forget the sacrifice they made for us all. You can read much about what is happening in our beautiful country here. It is especially moving to see stories of the Poppy project……..